Eczema Is Ruining My Life

Last winter I broke out with an insane rash on my arms and stomach. It started right after we got home from Vancouver and lasted until Easter. My doctor put me on this nasty steroid cream that did nothing. It was weird how it lasted from October to April and then went away like nothing ever happened.

Well, it's back. It started up around the first of November. To be more precise, it started as soon as the heat was turned on in my building. So I've drawn the conclusion that this eczema is caused by the dry steam heat used to heat my apartment. I mean, it has to be. It starts when the heat is turned on and stops when the heat is turned off.

This year's rash is 10 times worse than last year. It's all over both my arms, all over my stomach, and now on my legs. I even have a bit on my chin. I can't get any relief. The itching wakes me up at night. I scratch all through the day. I slather on moisturizer to no avail. I use moisturizing soaps in the shower and that does no good, either. I do my best not to scratch, but I can't stop.

Does anyone have any home remedies for eczema? I'll try anything at this point. I'm so tired of having unusually sensitive skin. It's driving me crazy and I have 3 months of hell left to go.

A Side Effect of Vicodin

One of the side effects of Vicodin is "itching". Seems like I'm one of those people it happens to. Two mornings ago I woke up with scratches all over my belly. This morning (or rather, at 3am) I woke up with two scratches on my inner wrists. I put bacitracin and a band aid over them right away to stop the itching and also to prevent myself from scratching more.



Sure, I'm depressed about my back, my empty bank account, and the fact that I can't find a job. But I'm not so depressed that I want to off myself! These scratches look like I tried to slit my wrists! Not very attractive, for sure.

So now I'm not sure what I want to do. I could sleep with gloves on so I don't scratch myself up, but I'm sure I'd take them off and my hands would get all gross and sweaty. I could stop taking the vicodin, but that means I wouldn't sleep at all.

One good thing that's happened while on vicodin is that I'm actually able to breathe out my nose! It's like I don't have that polyp obstruction anymore. Of course, I can't keep taking vicodin for allergies, but it sure is a relief.

Argh! I'm so sick of this it's not even funny. Anyone else experience any itching on vocodin?